Dilbert – The Lighter Side
of Project Management
Leah Spontaneo
Peter Smith
Adam Delyea
Project Scope



Research paper
Examine how the Dilbert comics
perceive PM vs. how PM is
completed in a real business
setting
Delve into Dilbert’s history, the
comparison of PM, and the roles
the Dilbert characters play
Work Breakdown

Research





History of Dilbert
Dilbert’s view of PM
PM in real business
Real roles of Dilbert characters
Write the sections of the paper



Leah – Real business PM, Comparison
Peter – History of Dilbert, Dilbert’s view
Adam – Roles of Dilbert characters
Challenges





Making sure the delivered material
was what the sponsor wanted
History information was hard to
gather
Older comics are scarce
Information on the characters was
hard to find—had to read comics
Hard to tie in Dilbert and PM in a
way that made sense
Paper Excerpts
Most companies have multiple projects
running at the same time that they must
juggle. This often means also juggling
their resources. This can mean that while
one project receives the funding it needs,
others may be underfunded or treated as
a sort of “second class” project.
-- Peter, 3.0 Dilbert’s Perception of
Project Management, 3.2 The Company
A project plan is a document that contains
all of the information about how a project is
going to be completed. It includes and
introduction, an overview of how the
project is organized, a risk analysis report,
the resources required for the project, a
work breakdown structure and estimates,
the project schedule, and the monitoring
and reporting methods in place to oversee
the project’s completion. These sections
are not necessarily required for every
project or project management
methodology; however, every project plan
should consist of at least a portion of those
sections.
-- Leah, 4.0 The Reality of Project
Management, 4.1 Project Planning
Paper Excerpts
Communication is vital in successful project
management. This is emphasized in Dilbert
many times and in the project integration
and communication management
knowledge areas. Without proper
communication and understanding between
the project manager and their team,
problems can occur.
-- Leah, 5.0 Dilbert Vs. Real-World
Business: How Do They Compare?
Alice speaks from many years of project
management experience and even though
she usually knows exactly what is the right
and wrong thing to do in a project, she is
usually ignored to the same degree as
Dilbert from the boss. Her views on project
management are also very cynical, but only
because of the company she works for and
the employees (Wally) that constantly get
assigned to her.
-- Adam, 6.0 Dilbert Characters and Their
Business World Roles, 6.4 Alice
Lessons Learned


It is important to show samples of
work to the sponsor to get their
input
Staying on task and having team
meetings is crucial to a successful
project completion